Margaret Cole
Dame Margaret Isabel Cole, DBE (6 May 1893 - 7 May 1980) was an English poet and socialist politician. Life Cole was born Margaret Postgate, the daughter of Edith (Allen) and John Percival Postgate. She was educated at Roedean School and Girton College, Cambridge. While at Girton, through her reading of H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw and others, she came to question the Anglicanism of her upbringing and to embrace atheism, socialism and feminism. On successfully completing her course (Cambridge did not allow women to graduate formally until 1947), Margaret became a classics teacher at St. Paul's Girls' School. Her poem 'The Falling Leaves', a response to the First World War (and currently on the OCR English Literature syllabus at GCSE), shows the influence of Latin poetry in its use of long and short syllables to create mimetic effects. During World War I, her brother Raymond sought exemption from military service as a socialist conscientious objector, but was denied recognition and jailed for refusing military orders. Margaret's support for her brother led her to a belief in pacifism. During her subsequent campaign against conscription, she met G.D.H. Cole, whom she married in 1918. The couple worked together for the Fabian Society before moving to Oxford in 1924, where they both taught and wrote. In the early 1930s, Margaret abandoned her pacifism in reaction to the suppression of socialist movements by the governments in Germany and Austria and to the events of the Spanish Civil War. In 1941, she was co-opted to the Education Committee of the London County Council, on the nomination of Herbert Morrison, and became a champion of comprehensive education. She was a member of the Inner London Education Authority from its creation in 1965 until her retirement from public life in 1967. She wrote several books including a biography of her husband. She and her husband jointly authored many mystery novels. Publications Poetry *''Margaret Postgate's Poems''. London: Allen & Unwin, 1918. Fiction ;with G.D.H. Cole Novels *''The Death of a Millionaire''. London: Collins, 1925; New York: Macmillan, 1925. *''The Blatchington Tangle''. London: Collins, 1926; New York: Macmillan, 1926; New York: A.L. Burt, 1926. *''The Murder at Crome House''. London: Collins, 1927; New York: Macmillan, 1927. *''The Man from the River''. London: Collins, 1928 New York: Macmillan, 1928. *''Superintendent Wilson's Holiday''. London: Collins, 1928; New York: Payson & Clarke, 1929. *''Poison in the Garden Suburb''. London: Collins, 1929. **published in the U.S. as Poison in a Garden Suburb. New York: Payson & Clarke, 1929. *''Burglars in Bucks''. London: Crime Club / Collins, 1930 **published in the U.S. as The Berkshire Mystery. New York: Berger & Warren / Payson & Clarke, 1930. * Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1930) Corpse in Canonicals. London: Crime Club / Colins, 1930 **published in U.S. as The Corpse in the Constable's Garden. New York: W. Morrow, 1931 *''The Great Southern Mystery''.London: Collins, 1931. **published in the U.S. as The Walking Corpse. New York: W. Morrow, 1931. * Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1931) Dead Man's Watch. London: Crime Club / Collins, 1931; Garden City, NY: Crime Club / Doubleday, Doran, 1932. *''Death of a Star''. London: Collins, 1932; Garden City, NY: Crime Club / Doubleday, Doran, 1933. *''The Affair at Aliquid''. London: Crime Club / Collins, 1933. *''End of an Ancient Mariner''. London: Collins, 1933; Garden City, NY: Crime Club / Doubleday, Doran, 1934. *''Death in the Quarry. London: Collins, 1934; Garden City, NY: Crime Club / Doubleday, Doran, 1934. *''Big Business Murder. London: Collins, 1935; New York: Crime Club / Doubleday, Doran, 1935; New York: A.L. Burt, 1935. *''Dr Tancred Begins; or, The Pendexter saga, first canto''. New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1935; New York: A.L. Burt, 1935. *''Scandal at School''. London: Crime Club / Collins, 1935 **published in the U.S. as The Sleeping Death. Garden City, NY: Crime Club / Doubleday, Doran, 1936. *''Murder at the Munition Works''. London: Crime Club / Collins, 1940; New York: Macmillan, 1940. *''Death of a Bride''. London: Vallancey Press, 1945. *''The Toys of Death''. London & Sydney: Hennel, Locke, 1948. Short fiction * Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1933) A Lesson in Crime (short stories) *''Wilson, and some others''. London: Crime Club / Collins, 1940. Non-fiction *''Local Government for Beginners''. London: Longmans Green, 1927. *''Twelve Studies in Soviet Russia''. London: Gollancz, 1933. *''The Intelligent Man's Review of Europe Today'' (with G.D.H. Cole). London: Gollancz, 1933; New York: Knopf, 1933. *''The New Economic Revolution''. London: Fact / Phoenix Book, 1937. *''Books and the People''. London: Hogarth Press, 1938. *''Women of Today. London & New York: Nelson, 1938. *''Marriage: Past and present. London: J.M. Dent, 1938. *''Education for Democracy''. London: Fabian Society / Allen & Unwin, 1942. *''The General Election, 1945, and after''. London: Fabian Publications / Gollancz, 1945. *''Beatrice Webb''. London, New York, & Toronto: Longmans Green, 1945; New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1946. *''The Rate for the Job''. London: Fabian Publications / Gollancz, 1946. *''The Social Services and the Webb Tradition''. *''Makers of the Labour Movement''. London & New York: Longmans, Green, 1948. *''The Webbs and their Work''. London: F. Muller, 1949; Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1949. *''Miners and the Board: Based on the report of a Fabian research group''. London: Fabian Publications, 1949. *''Growing up into Revolution''. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1949. *''Robert Owen of New Lanark''. London: Batchworth Press, 1953; New York: Oxford University Press, 1953. *''Beatrice and Sidney Webb''. London: Fabian Society, 1955. *''Servant of the Country''. London: Denis Dobson, 1956. *''The Story of Fabian Socialism''. Standord, CA: Stanford University Press, 1961; London, Melbourne, & Toronto: Heinemann, 1961. *''The Life of G.D.H. Cole''. London: Macmillan / New York: St. Martin's Press, 1971. *''Robert Owen: Industrialist, reformer, visionary, 1771-1858; Four essays''. London: Robert Owen Bicentenary Association, 1971. Edited *''The Bolo Book'' (edited with G.D.H. Cole). Labour Publishing / Allen & Unwin, 1921. *''Our Soviet Ally: Essays''. London: Routledge, 1943. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Margaret Cole, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Libary Center Inc. Web, Aug. 3, 2014. See also *List of British poets References *Cole, Margaret (1949) Growing up into Revolution *Cole, M. I. (1971) The Life of G.D.H. Cole *Mitchison, N. (1982) Margaret Cole, 1893-1980 ISBN 0-7163-0482-1 *Vernon, B. D. (1986) Margaret Cole, 1893-1980: A Political Biography ISBN 0-7099-2611-1 Notes External links ;Poems *"The Veteran" in Poetry *Margaret Postgate Cole at AllPoetry (4 poems) *Margaret Postgate Cole 1893-1980 at the Poetry Foundation ;Audio / video *Margaret Postgate Cole at YouTube ;About *Margaret Postgate Cole (1893-1980) at AQA ;Etc. * Category:1893 births Category:1980 deaths Category:English politicians Category:British suffragists Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Roedean School, England Category:Members of the Detection Club Category:Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Category:Women of the Victorian era Category:People of the Edwardian era Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:English-language poets Category:English poets Category:English women writers Category:Poets Category:Women poets